U.K. Stocks Advance From a Two-Day Decline as GKN Climbs
U.K. stocks went up, after a two-day decline, as investors weighed earnings from companies such as GKN Plc and Next Plc.
GKN jumped 6.9 percent after reporting higher first-half pretax profit. Next climbed 2.5 percent after raising its full-year revenue and earnings forecasts. Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc slipped 2.5 percent after saying it was cautious about the outlook for the rest of the year.
The FTSE 100 (UKX) gained 18.66 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,806.73 at 11:31 a.m. in London. The equity benchmark lost 0.5 percent in the previous two sessions amid worse-than-forecast U.S. housing data and mixed earnings reports. The FTSE All-Share Index also added 0.3 percent today, and Ireland’s ISEQ Index rose 0.5 percent.
GKN (GKN) climbed 6.9 percent to 366.6 pence. The supplier of parts to Boeing Co. reported first-half pretax profit on a management basis of 296 million pounds ($503 million), compared with 278 million pounds a year earlier.
Next rose 2.5 percent to 6,685 pence. The U.K.’s second-biggest clothing retailer said revenue under the Next brand rose 10.7 percent in the 26 weeks to July 26. That beat the average analyst prediction for a 9.6 percent gain.
Next forecast sales growth of 7 percent to 10 percent this year, compared with an earlier prediction of 5.5 percent to 9.5 percent. Full-year pretax profit will be 775 million pounds to 815 million pounds, compared with a previous forecast of 750 million pounds to 790 million pounds.
Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) slipped 2.5 percent to 1,030 pence. The London-based company, which is involved in risk management advice, insurance and reinsurance broking, cited a decline in the insurance and reinsurance rating environment in the last quarter and the strength of sterling for its cautious outlook.
Source: bloomberg
